Vinyl listner

You will need a pre-amplifier of some sort--the turntable will not put out enough voltage to drive your speakers directly.

Option 1: a dedicated phono pre-amp with a built in volume control which steps up the voltage to what is considered "line level." This could then drive a powered speaker pair but you really won't have any system flexibility.

Option 2: a full-function pre-amp, but be sure it has a built-in phono stage (again, to step up the very low voltage cartridge to line level voltage). If you get a pre-amp that does not have a built-in phono stage, then you'll need an outboard pre-amp as noted above however it need not have a volume control.

FYI, a full-function pre-amp that does not include a phono stage is often referred to as a line stage.

Hope this helps!

Option 3: a receiver equipped with the phono stage as noted in option 2.

Of all, option 2 will give you the greatest long term flexibility. If you are like many of us here you will start a journey that will have many future twists and turns!

The audioengine A5+ has a remote volume control so you really only need a basic phono stage. It does not need a volume control. Unless you want to be able to listen to other sources, that is all you need.

What if I was to use an a/v receiver? Would that also work as well?

Most A/V receivers won't have a built-in phono stage but an inexpensive one from Pro-ject, Cambridge, or Musical Fidelity would do just fine in between the a/v preamp and the table.

You also need to know what kind of phono cartridge you have, as there are significant differences in output voltage. Moving Magnet types tend to be the less expensive and higher output option, while most Moving Coil types are low output and higher cost. Not all phono stages will step up a low output moving coil (LOMC) so be aware of that aspect (although it's unlikely your table is equipped with a LOMC).